Water upgrade for Kill van Kull

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Water quality in the Kill van Kull will improve as a result of yesterday’s activation of a new floodgate at the Port Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant, environmental officials said.

This apparatus, called a throttling gate, will contain more sewage and storm water during wet weather. It will help prevent the discharge of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the waterway, which now occurs when the system is overwhelmed.

View full sizeAdvance file photoWater quality in the Kill van Kull will improve as a result of yesterday’s activation of a new floodgate. (Advance file photo)The new floodgate allows excess water to be transported to the Port Richmond Wastewater Plant, where it’s treated and safely deposited into the Kill, a tidal strait that separates Staten Island’s North Shore and Bayonne.

Before the $8 million project, the Port Richmond Wastewater Plant could only minimally control the amount of contaminated wastewater and storm water that was released into the Kill.

This new water gate can hold up to 5.6 million gallons of wastes per heavy rainfall, which will reduce combined sewage overflow by about 30 million gallons each year.

The improved water quality will be a boon for marine life, said Vincent Sapienza, a deputy commissioner for the city Department of Environmental Protection.

“When sewage enters water, it depletes oxygen so there is less air for fish to breathe,” he said. The reduced amount of sewage overflow will mean more oxygen for the marine life.

Borough President James Molinaro said the new throttling gate will improve the environment while boosting waterfront and recreational opportunities for Staten Islanders.

“Treatment of our city’s wastewater has more than doubled in recent years and it won’t be long before we reach 100 percent,” Molinaro said in a news release.